In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun is one of the warriors who spend the most thought and ink on Luo Guanzhong.
Zhao Yun appeared very early, appearing as a heroic young hero in the seventh time, and he left the scene very late, and did not die until the ninety-seventh time.
Zhao Yun's span in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is as long as 91 re-eyes, ranking first among all the military generals in the book, surpassing the major military general roles such as Zhang Fei (81 huimu) and Guan Yu (77 huimu).
Moreover, compared with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two martial generals with obvious personality defects, Zhao Yun's image is undoubtedly more perfect.
Luo Guanzhong shaped him into a super-first-class "male god" with both wisdom and courage, both moral integrity and ability, and rare talents.
But in the impression of many people, Zhao Yun is not like this. There are rumors that he is more like a strong bodyguard with high martial arts, at best a guard chief. What is the truth of history?
I. Zhao Yun in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
1. Super martial arts
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun should be a super-first-class military general, and his combat can often be like entering the no-man's land, and he rarely loses in his life.
In the seventh round, Zhao Yun just appeared on the scene and fought against the famous Hebei general Wen Ugly and saved Gongsun Zhan. Then, Zhao Yun used ten rounds to kill Yuan Shao's general Li Yi.
In Yuan Shao's army, there were many famous generals such as Yan Liang and Wen Ugly, and their military strength was much stronger than that of Gongsun Zhan, but Zhao Yun could repeatedly help Gongsun Zhan turn defeat into victory, which was the best embodiment of his super martial arts.
The most able to show Zhao Yun's ability is the Battle of Changshanpo. Zhao Yun first killed Xiahou En and captured two swords. Then he embraced the young lord Liu Chan and killed or killed Yan Ming, Zhang Gao, Jiao Touch, Zhang Nan and other Cao Ying generals one after another.
Along the way, Zhao Yun fought to the death, killing more than 50 famous generals in Cao Ying. Luo Guanzhong's description of Zhao Yun's divine courage seems to be very exaggerated, but it is reasonable.
The most important factor for his successful escape from danger was that his divine courage won the favor of Cao Cao: "Don't release cold arrows, you must catch them alive." ”
Zhao Yun's miracles were also reflected in his old age and strength. When Zhao Yun, who was over seventy years old, appeared on the battlefield of the Northern Expedition, he was despised by Han De's father and son.
However, before the two armies fought, Zhao Yun killed 4 sons of Han De in a row, leading the Wei army to lose its courage.
The Wei general Xiahou Shu sighed:
"I have heard zhao yun's name for a long time, and I have not tried to meet; today I am old, the hero is still there, and Fang Xin is the matter of Yang Changsaka." The elderly Zhao Yun actually became a legend in the hostile camp!
2. Excellent strategy
As a military general, Zhao Yun's brave martial arts were rare, and what was more valuable was that his strategic index was also very high.
Before Kong Ming sacrificed the "Empty City Plan", Zhao Yun had come up with the "Empty Camp Plan" to deal with the Wei Army.
At the Battle of Hanzhong, Zhao Yun led an army to rescue Huang Zhong and killed him back to the camp, but Cao Cao also led a large army to kill him at this time.
Zhao Yun was weak and widowed at this time, but he did the opposite, opening the gate of the village and calming down Cao Jun.
Just when the Cao army suspected that there was an ambush and was preparing to return to the army, Zhao Yun ordered the crossbowmen to fire arrows in unison, and the Cao army panicked and chose nowhere, and countless people fell into the water.
Zhao Yun's "empty camp plan" was comparable to the "empty city plan", or even more so.
3. Noble personality
The reason why Zhao Yun is a perfect person is because in addition to his super martial arts and superior wisdom, he also has a noble personality.
As soon as Zhao Yun came out of the mountain, he held the original intention of serving the imperial court and saving the people from water and fire. After discovering that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan were not benevolent lords, he resolutely turned to Liu Bei, who was weak in strength.
Liu Bei's ideal of reviving the Han Dynasty coincided with Zhao Yun's life goal, which was also the fundamental reason for his lifelong loyalty to shu Han.
After Liu Bei captured Yizhou, he originally wanted to divide the fields among the civil and military officials as a reward. But Zhao Yun resolutely refused, and he also advised Liu Bei:
"Only by returning to the people now and returning to work in peace can they be entrusted with military service and naturally convinced." It is not advisable to take it for personal love also. ”
When Liu Beixing attacked Wu, even Zhuge Liang chose to be silent, and Zhao Yun was one of the few courtiers who dared to intervene to stop him.
Martial arts, wisdom and morality make Zhao Yun's image incomparably tall. Zhao Yun also became the "most perfect man" in the Three Kingdoms world.
2. Zhao Yun in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Compared with the mighty Zhao Yun in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the real Zhao Yun in history is undoubtedly much darker, but to say that he is only Liu Bei's big bodyguard is too underestimated.
The time of writing of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is relatively close to the Three Kingdoms era, and Chen Shou himself is a Shu native. Therefore, his Zhao Yun should be the closest to the truth of history.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun's biography is not listed separately, and he and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong are merged into one biography. Although there is no "Five Tiger Generals" in history, in Chen Shou's mind, he can indeed be called together with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others.
What are the outstanding characteristics of Zhao Yun in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
1, a body is a gall
Chen Shou's overall evaluation of Zhao Yun is 8 words - "strong and fierce, and as a pawn". The concrete embodiment of these 8 words is Zhao Yun's boldness.
In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the story of Zhao Yun's "empty village plan" at the Battle of Hanzhong is recorded. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms adopts this history throughout and appropriately exaggerates it.
It is worth mentioning that after the victory, Liu Bei commented: "Zilong is full of guts. Zhao Yun was appointed "General of Huwei".
Zhao Yun's boldness is also reflected in his courage to speak out and advise, and this story is also reflected in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Sun Quan secretly attacked Jingzhou, and Liu Bei was furious and prepared to attack Eastern Wu. Liu Bei, who became emperor, was already overwhelmed by the victory in the Battle of Hanzhong and was unwilling to listen to different opinions.
Qin Mi was imprisoned for saying things he didn't like to hear. Zhuge Liang also only sighed privately: "If the Fa is filial piety, it will certainly be able to hinder the eastward journey of the Lord." ”
Manchu Wenwu was afraid of charging Liu Bei, and all of them were silent, only Zhao Yun dared to persuade Liu Bei, who was angry. He exhorted:
"The thief of the state is Cao Cao, not Sun Quanye, and if he destroys Wei first, then Wu obeys himself."
However, Zhao Yun did not flinch, and he based himself on the overall situation and long-term interests of the Shu state, directly pointing out that Cao Wei was the most important enemy and threat to the country. If Cao Wei was destroyed first, Sun Wu would be able to win without a fight.
2. Be thoughtful
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms presents us with an extremely courageous Zhao Yun, but because the history book itself pursues "minimalism", his martial arts and military talents are not obvious.
In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, only the story of his first participation in the Northern Expedition is recorded. In 228, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun to lead a small force out of the Valley as a suspect to attract the main force of the Wei army, while he personally led a large army out of Qishan.
In order to hold back the Wei army, Zhao Yun ordered his soldiers to hold the valley until the street pavilion was lost and the Shu army was completely defeated.
In the First Northern Expedition, the Shu army suffered heavy losses, only this weak brigade led by Zhao Yun retreated completely, and after he personally commanded the break, even the heavy materials were not damaged.
This battle made Zhuge Liang look at Zhao Yun with astonishment. It was precisely because Zhao Yun had the courage and strategy to fight that the Shu army would not lose everything.
Zhuge Liang ordered the remaining military supplies to be given to Zhao Yun, but Zhao Yun said that he was the general of the defeated army, and there was no reason to ask for these rewards. He also suggested that Zhuge Liang put these materials into storage for future distribution to the soldiers. This made Zhuge Liang even more moved.
Therefore, although the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms does not highlight Zhao Yun's military ability, and even describes him more like a civilian courtier with both moral integrity and ability, in any case, he was by no means Liu Bei's great bodyguard.